


Ghost of Mine

by ABookAndACoffee



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:48:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21740878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABookAndACoffee/pseuds/ABookAndACoffee
Summary: Nesta moves into a new apartment, unaware that her high school sweetheart Cassian is her new neighbor.Meanwhile, Cassian is unaware that Nesta is not moving in alone.
Relationships: Nesta Archeron/Cassian
Comments: 12
Kudos: 50





	Ghost of Mine

Nesta brushed her hair out of her eyes, frustrated that her sweat-slick skin kept the tendrils stuck there. The end of the day was quickly approaching, and she wanted to be moved in to her new apartment before dark. She had little help besides Elain, and she was more use telling Nesta where she felt the second-hand furniture should go.

This was one time when being a people person and having friends might have been useful. But that’s what moving companies and rental trucks were for, Nesta reminded herself.

Dropping a box of pans on the floor, Nesta flinched at the rattle and leaned back against the linoleum counter. She could hear Elain chattering in the bedroom. At least she was keeping Olivia entertained, even if neither of them were much use at heavy lifting.

Nesta closed her eyes to enjoy the quiet and isolation of the kitchen. Olivia would sleep well, which meant she would, and she needed as much rest as she could get before job hunting. She could hear the sound of traffic from the street, though it sounded like a movie soundtrack from 20 th floor. Nothing was real up there. Nothing could touch her. But as soon as she opened her eyes, Nesta Archeron knew she would be _that_ Archeron sister, the one who had fled Velaris for reasons no one could discern. For reasons she hadn’t even told Elain.

“Knock knock.” A man stood in her doorway. He was wearing a suit and tie, though his long, tousled hair could easily have placed him on some rugged mountainside. And he was startlingly familiar.

Cassian was her high school sweetheart, her first love, and now her neighbor. He’d never worn a suit in all the time she knew him, but the gossip columns were full of information about anyone in Rhysand Chevalier’s inner circle. Nesta didn’t need to keep in touch with Feyre to know every detail of their lives. And try as she might, Nesta hadn’t been able to help seeing photos of Cassian, always standing just off center behind Rhys and Feyre. Tall and assured and the picture of someone who had every problem solved before it had even happened. 

With a curse Nesta wished she had closed the door behind her, or checked out the neighbors before moving in, or perhaps considered moving to an entirely different continent.

“Hi.” She pushed off from the counter and took a step forward. Cassian made no sign of recognition. Surely she didn’t look that bad? Though a day of moving all her worldly possessions into a new apartment hardly left her looking fresh and presentable. Nesta pressed her hair back from her forehead again and arched an eyebrow. 

“Cassian,” she said, prodding. Nesta enjoyed watching the emotions pass over his face, the way that crease appeared and then smoothed between his eyebrows and his hands flexed as if looking for a weapon. 

She waited for Cassian to regain composure. She always was the calm and collected one.

“Nesta.” He said her name softly, like he had been waiting for her to arrive. Like it had only been a matter of time. “Are you visiting someone? I didn’t know you were back in town.”

“I’m not,” she said, “visiting someone. I’m moving in.”

“Here?” Cassian looked around the apartment then out in the hallway as if reminding himself of where he was. “But then you’ll be my neighbor.”

“Cauldron help us,” Nesta muttered under her breath. She felt pressure at the back of her legs and tensed her muscles in reflex, in time to keep Olivia from pushing with all her weight and taking them both down. She hadn’t even heard Olivia and Elain stop their very important discussion of where Olivia’s stuffed animals should sleep. The moment Nesta had seen Cassian, she’d gone back to being that headstrong, brash 17-year-old who could get anything she wanted by sheer force of will. That girl hadn’t known what was coming, or how thoroughly the world could wreck a person.

Cassian looked down at the girl and his face broke out into a smile. “And who is this?”

Nesta patted Olivia on the back of the head, threading her fingers through her hair in an attempt to untangle some of the inevitable knots. “This is Olivia.”

The girl peeked from behind Nesta’s thigh, one sticky hand wrapped around her leg and the other fist clenching a bright red lollipop.

Cassian smiled and knelt down, an attempt at getting eye-to-eye with her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Olivia.” He held out a hand, which the girl looked sideways at before looking up to Nesta for approval.

Nesta gave a small nod and Olivia took a small step forward, just enough so that she could extend the hand that held the lollipop while keeping her other hand firmly attached to Nesta.

Cassian grasped her hand without a thought, undoubtedly getting spit and sticky candy all over his palm. “And how old are you, Olivia?” His eyes flicked up to Nesta quickly before he finished the question.

“Six years old and three months,” Olivia said. “Almost six and a half.” She looked back up at Nesta after retreating to her side. “Aunt Elain asked me to tell you we are ordering a pizza. We’re tired of moving.”

Nesta patted Olivia on the back gently. “All right. Please remind Aunt Elain that in order to decorate, we need to unpack.”

“Okay!” Olivia’s cheery response was yelled down the hall from where she’d already managed to skip.

“Aunt Elain?” As Cassian stood the furrow between his brows reappeared as he did the calculations. How old the girl was. How long it had been since he’d seen Nesta. 

It was math Nesta had been doing every day since she’d gone to the doctor. How many days since her last period, and how long since she’d been with Cassian, how many minutes since they’d last spoken, how many years it would take for her to be able to breathe without him. And then, finally, how many days and weeks and months and years she’d been gone.

Cassian took a step through the doorway. “Nesta Archeron. Is that my daughter?”

“Yes.”

“Olivia.” Cassian said her name as if he were trying it out, testing the vowels and consonants on his tongue the same way he had also said _daughter_.

“Elain named her. Well, she gave me the suggestion. Something to do with peace.”

A shadow came over Cassian’s face, but a quick glance down the hallway where Olivia had run had him erasing the hint of anger. “And you were going to tell me when?”

“Come inside,” Nesta said. The pit of dread that had been growing in her stomach since Nesta had decided to move them back to Velaris took over until it was pressing against her heart and weighing her down, down, down into the floor. But she stood ramrod straight, spine and posture imperious.

“Let’s talk.”

**Author's Note:**

> I legit don't know if I will continue this, so I'm just putting a ??? for now!


End file.
